Jason Sudeikis broke his silence following the passing of his uncle, Cheers star George Wendt.
The Ted Lasso star, 49, spoke about Wendt, who died on May 20 at the age of 76, during an interview with Kansas City’s KSHB 41 on Friday, May 31. While interviewed at the Big Slick, a fundraising event organized by the outlet, Sudeikis responded to condolences offered by a journalist from the Kansas City Star. (Wendt was a regular celebrity guest at the Big Slick’s annual showcase.)
“Well, thank you … yep, he was an amazing guy,” Sudeikis, who appeared on stage alongside Rob Riggle, Paul Rudd, Eric Stonestreet and other famous faces, said. Sudeikis’ mic then dropped out and he was handed a replacement mic by Riggle, 55, leading Sudeikis to joke, “That’s him, that’s him messing with the soundboard. He’s like, ‘Don’t talk about me.’ Just good, midwestern humility.”
Sudeikis continued, “With regard to my uncle George, I mean, you know, there’s that old saying of ‘Don’t meet your heroes,’ and usually because they let you down is the back-half of that statement, but he’s not one of those people. He’s as fun and kind and as warm as any character he played on television or in films and he … was an incredible influence to me, both as someone that blazed the trail, coming from the midwest and teaching me that acting was a career you can actually have if you really care about it.”
Sudeikis, whose maternal uncle was Wendt, added that being an actor helped Wendt grow his own family. “It’s also a career where you get to meet the love of your life like his wife and aka permanent girlfriend Bernadette [Birkett] and so he also always kept connected to his family, to his roots, both in Chicago of course where he’s from but also the time he spent here.”
He added that “we miss him greatly” before noting that he loves him dearly.
Riggle also took the chance to pay tribute to Wendt, telling the room that “George was always willing to participate,” in the Big Slick, before adding that he was “always fun to be around.”
Rudd, 56, then offered a few words of his own. “His absence is here … he’s so a part of it, just as much as any of us. He is a really, really sweet guy. I love him,” he said.
A representative for Wendt confirmed the star’s death in a statement to Us Weekly last month. “Beloved actor and comedian, George Wendt, best known for starring in the NBC hit comedy Cheers, has passed away,” the statement read at the time. “George’s family confirmed the news of his death early Tuesday morning, announcing he died peacefully in his sleep while at home. George was a doting family man, a well-loved friend and confidant to all of those lucky enough to have known him. He will be missed forever.”
Wendt began his career as a comedian at The Second City in the 1970s before turning his sights on TV acting. He had several guest starring roles on shows like Taxi, Alice and Hart to Hart in the 1980s before landing the role of Norm Peterson on Cheers in 1982.
